we could lose it all
by piiussima domina
Summary: The daughter of Atlas: Queen of Ogygia, fearsome sorceress, and a Titan doomed from the start. Young, lonely Calypso has always been fiercely devoted to her large family. When she's thirteen, an upstart called Zeus starts a war and suddenly her life is falling apart. The First Titan War, from Calypso's perspective.
1. prologue

_prologue _

Once the Mother of All Rivers bore a child not of her husband.

She was a sly goddess, always looking out for herself, and in her cunning she chose not to conceal it; a good choice as her husband's rage would have been far mightier had she compounded her act with a lie.

But as it was, he was simply angry at her for a few years—mere moments for an immortal as old as they, the first children of Gaea and Uranus. He forbade her from her daughters, from the rivers, the glades, meadows, forests, and flowers over which their daughters from him presided.

Though his anger was neither far reaching nor long lasting, he expelled her for a time from their home, and he was the world ocean, the river that encircled the world as a sea, and for a time, she was without means in the world, for every place in the world she went, she could not stay. Her daughters were too numerous, and where they were not, there was the sea, lapping in waves onto the beach, and she was once again forced to leave.

The only place she found to labor was a rock in the middle of the ocean of Nereus, and the Nereids, his shining-haired daughters, gathered around to witness to the lonely birth.

As the baby was born, the lone rock began to change, and the Nereids could only scatter into the ocean in wonder as the rock became a large island in the middle of the sea.

Though she was forbidden from all of the domains of her daughter's fathered by her husband, she was not forbidden from this one. And as the Nereids crowded around she named the child Hidden One, for the island had come from magic and was hidden from the rest of the world by virtue of its youth, and for this birth had been hidden from all due to her seclusion. And, her months of exile finally over, she raised herself up, gathered her robes about her, and went quickly to her house to rest from the birth.

That is the story of the creation of Ogygia and the birth of Calypso, daughter of Atlas, Titan of Strength, and Tethys, the Mother of All Rivers.

_a/n: Hey guys! Revamping this story a bit. Hope you guys like the changes. Let me know what you think._


	2. colder than this home

_chapter one: colder than this home _

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"Tethys has conceived a daughter of yours," Koios said nonchalantly, as if in passing, as he and Atlas observed one of the more spirited groups of mortals from one of the mirrors that showed them what they wished. They had one who called himself a king—though there was no true king but Kronos. Still, they were one of the more interesting groups to watch.

Not many mortals worshipped the titans—the occasional crude temple or bumbling sacrifice were all one could expect from a select few. But even the ones who worshipped reverently were good for nothing but eventual death.

Atlas hardly blinked, and if he did, it was from the discomfort of Koios' sometimes-eerie ability of foretelling rather than any surprise he felt at the news. Koios was not the titan of prophecy—rather, his wife was, and he was the titam of rational thoughts. But together, the two could almost use one another's powers like they were one.

That would make the river titaness tear at her hair, he reflected with a grim satisfaction. To have his child, when their short-lived passion had already turned to hatred. Just the thought of Tethys made him angry. He assumed the girl would live with him—the titaness certainly would not be allowed to raise it in her own house.

He was still somewhat in trouble for the whole adultery in the first place. It was certainly normal and expected to take a mistress or conquest (or several) when one was a titan lord. It was rather less expected for that mistress to be another titaness—one who was married to another titan. Unattached and unimportant nymphs like his mistresses Doris and Aethra and his wife Pleione were one thing, but powerful and respected titanesses were another completely.

Also an issue was the fact that his wife Pleione was Tethys' daughter.

"Do I bore you, Atlas?" Koios asked, his eyes glittering in annoyance, and the younger titan was shaken from his thoughts.

"Not at all, uncle. I only hope she will be more useful to me then her sisters have been." Of course, the eldest of his daughters was only six, yet she showed no interest in combat nor witchcraft nor power. She seemed to have no ambition.

"Ah," Koios said, slightly smug, "The child you will have with Tethys will be a superlative sorceress." His gaze suddenly became faraway. "Good, too."

"Why do you say that?" Atlas asked.

"Those of us with sight—my wife, myself, Themis—we have seen...something." He shook his head. "We know not what. The future still may alter. But I think it is safe to assume that she will be...useful indeed to us, when that time comes—if it does."

Atlas nodded thoughtfully, the wheels in his mind turning. _Power_. A good thing to have. This child would have to love him—but then, all his simpering children adored him, as children did.

_Useful_. A good thing to be in this world. "As you say."

They observed the mortals in silence for a few more minutes before Atlas continued, "Is your wife well?"

"She is." Koios and Phoebe had a young girl-goddess, a star titaness named Asteria. If he ever had a son, he wanted Asteria for him.

Quickly, though, he bored with the subject of children, especially his own.

"Excellent, uncle," he said, to change the subject. "Now, will you be hunting with us tomorrow? We wish to overtake a pack of lions that are as tall as trees."


	3. runs in the family

_chapter two_

_runs in the family _

_three years old _

"Atlas," the angry-looking lady said. She was tall, and had brown hair, all tied up. She looked a little like Mama, but older, and not as nice. She folded her arms, and her gaze fell on Calypso.

"Tethys," Father said back, shifting Calypso in his arms. She liked that he was holding her. She did not like that that lady was looking at her, and wished that they were at home. She had been so happy to be alone with Father, without even Mama or her sisters or Hyas, but now...

"Calypso," Father said, setting her down, "go to your mother."

Calypso frowned. "Mama is at home."

Father knelt down so that he was closer to her face. He was still taller than her. Calypso did not understand what was going on. "We talked about this, sweet girl."

She smiled at the name. She knew what Father meant. But she did not want to do it. "But—"

"Calypso," Father said in a way that she knew meant trouble if she did not obey. "I said, go to your mother. I was not asking."

She walked as slowly as she dared, until she stood before this lady who she knew was her mother, and glanced back towards Father. He smiled at her, which made her happy. Suddenly shy, she was at a loss for what to say to her mother and wanted to run back. She whispered a greeting but did not really think about what she said.

Her mother stared down. "Hello, Calypso. You may call me 'Mother'."

"H-hello." Calypso wanted to run back to Father and stand behind his legs. It was far safer there.

But her mother turned to Father and they began talking over her head. Calypso grew bored and did not listen until a Father knelt again and kissed her forehead. She giggled at that, and he held both her hands in one of his.

"Be a good girl, Calypso. Be obedient to your mother as you would me."

He was leaving. Panic gripped her. "I want to stay with you and Mama."

"I know. But it is important that you stay with your mother for a time. She is going to teach you how to be a very great sorceress."

"I want to stay with you and Mama. I changed my mind. I—"

"It is better for Mama and I if you stay with your mother for now, and become a powerful sorceress. That way, you can help me with all sorts of things."

"L-like what?"

He simply ran a hand through her hair. "You cannot know until you become one, my love!"

Calypso felt her eyes fill with tears.

"Stop crying. It is only half the year. You will come back to us in no time." Father straightened up. "Now, say you will be good and say goodbye, like a brave girl, with no tears."

"But Father—"

"Calypso! You embarrass me!" He suddenly looked angry, which made her want to cry even more. He knelt again, shaking her shoulders slightly. "You know stupid children cry."

She struggled to stifle her tears and sniffled loudly. Father looked at her somewhat coldly, then stood back up.

"Do not squander her potential," he said to her mother, though Calypso did not know what that meant. "And see if you can do something about the crying."

"She is a little girl," her mother said back. "They cry."

Father made an angry sound and disappeared. Calypso almost gasped when he did, even though she knew he was going to do that.

Now she slowly brought her gaze to her other mother. Her real mother. Her new mother.

Mother glanced down at her, then crossed the room to a stone bench. She sat down.

"Come closer, child, and the lesson will begin."

She just stood there. She was unsure whether to cry or to never ever let this Mother see her cry.

"Calypso, I know you do not know me. But your father wants me to teach you magic, and you want to make him happy, do you not?"

She did want to make him happy.

"Come here."

She did.

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**a/n: thanks for reading, guys! Just to let y'all know, I haven't read Percy Jackson's Greek Gods nor Trials of Apollo, so whatever mythology is in there is not in here. Other than the Percy Jackson books, which were my first source, I used legit Greek mythology to write this story. If there is a contradiction, there will be a reason for it.**

**Tell me what you guys think!**


	4. everything you are is love

_chapter three_

_everything you are is love_

The air before the couch that Pleione was reclining on shimmered for a second, then, a little girl stood in its place. Her hair was loose and long and without ornament, and she was dressed in white robes; practical and reminiscent of her mother, a pragmatic woman.

Reminiscent of their _shared_ mother.

Pleione sat up, dismissing the nymph brushing her hair with one hand. The little girl, grinning, ran to the her and Pleione kissed her on the forehead. "Hello, Mama," said the little girl.

"Hello, Calypso," greeted Pleione warmly. She was beautiful and young—tall and pale, with dark brown hair and eyes the exact color of pale blue winter sky—and Calypso loved her, even though she knew that Pleione was not her mother.

Pleione smiled at the little girl. "Your father is in the Lion Room. Go into him." Calypso's eyes widened with excitement and she nodded, turning and running out of the chambers.

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Calypso was only seven, but she saw and heard and knew enough to realize there were some things that were just forbidden.

The first, cardinal rule was never to anger Father, but there were others. Father had never allowed there to be conflict in his house in any way, and that included with his children and his wife. She had grown up calling her own mother Mother and Pleione Mama. It was just what happened, and everyone knew the truth and accepted it. They had to.

One of the other rules was that every child born into the House of Atlas had to be useful to the House of Atlas.

If you were a boy like Hyas was, one day you would be a brave and mighty god with a large domain and much power. (Honestly, Calypso's opinion of her brother, who was barely a week older than her, was less optimistic, even at the age of seven. His mother had been Aethra, a mere Oceanid, and he was weak and frail and somewhat ridiculous about everything.) If you were a girl, like the entirety of the rest of Atlas' offspring, you were expected to marry an advantageous godling and bear him many sons to continue to serve the king Kronos for eternity. That was what Father and Mama said, anyway.

And Calypso, said Father, had an extra-special job. She had to help her family by going to her mother Tethys' house for half the year, and letting Tethys teach her magic. Father said that it was her duty to do it, that it was a way to show him that she loved him. But Mother was stern and harsh, and her sisters there did not really like her. Not that her sisters here really liked her, but at least she did not have to work and learn all the time.

She continued down the white marble hall. Millines from now, the house of her father could be called a palace, but there wasn't such thing then. Everything in her father's house was made out of shining white marble, smooth and terribly cold. It was an huge house, surrounded on all sides by vast expanses of fields and forests and rivers, and populated by many. Serving nymphs and men of her father's passed her every step she took, many recognizing her. The nymphs sat in groups in the corners of the hallway, chatting and laughing and weaving, while the men stood together and spoke quietly. Besides them, it was often that her father welcomed other members of their family into his house.

But finally she reached the main room of the house. The skin of a lion Father had slain, now stretched across the ceiling, had lead to the room being called the Lion Room.

The lion was so great, the skin covered almost the entire ceiling, and the rest of the room was made mostly out of white marble. A magnificent chair, more like a throne then a regular seat, stood at the top of several steps. Behind it, still on the raised platform, were more informal chairs and a table, for a council of about nine to talk in relative privacy. In the expanse of the room that wasn't on the raised platform there was a long table and little else but some pillars that supported the ceiling.

And there, on the throne, her father sat, speaking to some of his men. The little girl's face lit up as she ran across the room. Finally, finally she got to see him again! Finally, finally she could stay with him, and he had to be proud of her! Even Mother had said she had done well! She called out to him as she ran, catching the attention of the others in the room, but she paid them no mind as her father dismissed his men and sat forward on his throne as she stopped before him and dropped to her knees.

"Is that you, my little sorceress? You've grown since I saw you last!" He exclaimed good-naturedly. "Go on, rise. Let your father look at you."

He didn't have to ask twice, he never had to ask twice—she scrambled up, holding her arms away from her body to show any changes in appearance from the last time she had seen him. Father laughed heartily, nodding to his men. "She's growing up to be quite a beauty, isn't she?"

As they quickly gave their agreement he frowned. Calypso caught her breath, hoping nothing was wrong.

"The rags that woman dresses my daughter in," he said, rolling his eyes, gesturing to her clothes and undone hair. Calypso felt fear twitch in the pit of her stomach. She should have had Mama make her beautiful going to Father. Why had she not? Would he be angry? Would he forget her? Why hadn't she worn jewels?

All the bad feelings dissipated when his face broke out into a smile again. "Ah, that is not your fault, my little sorceress."

Calypso held her arms out to her father, and he grinned at her and held out his hand her. She grabbed onto his little finger with both hands and giggled as he picked up her entire body weight with it, letting her dangle in the air for a moment before settling her small frame against his chest as he sat in his throne. She surveyed the room carefully, her eyes quietly taking note of every detail. She wanted to remember everything from this point of view: the tiny details on the pillars, the flecks of ivory and gold in the floor's tiles, but mostly the way her father was smiling at her right now that made her hear soar.

"My pretty sorceress." Atlas murmured, brushing a few strands of the child's already-long hair behind her ear. "One day you will be a queen, you know."

Calypso blinked. The mortals were squabbling little tribes that she barely knew of, and though a few of them called themselves king or queen it was like one straggly, pathetic weed that grew just a bit taller then it's brethren calling itself a flower.

She didn't see much point in it.

The only other queen she knew of was Rhea, Queen of the Titans, sister of her mother, and she was always sent out of the room when that lady visited either her father or her mother. "Queen." She echoed quietly, not very impressed, but still happy that her father had decided to tell her this.

"How do your lessons go?" Atlas prompted her, and she perked up, eager to boast to him and to see if she could get her wish.

"Mother tells me that I am talented. She says to tell you that my education progresses nicely."

"Does she?" Atlas smiled at his daughter and she beamed back at him for a moment before laying her head against his chest and looking up at him beseechingly.

"But I do not like to visit Mother half the year. I want to stay here with you all the time. Cannot one of the nymphs teach me magic?"

Atlas shook his head with a smile. "Afraid not, my little sorceress."

The young girl pouted for a moment, but her father's gaze had turned to the front of the room. Annoyed at losing her father's attention, she poked him once, resulting in him pushing her roughly to the floor. Calypso winced in pain, and stared up at her father accusingly before turning to look at what had so captured his attention: a woman with dark skin, dark hair cut close to her skull, and bright, pale silver and almost white eyes, shining out of her face in such a way that no one could look away from her. She wore a white garment, but it seemed so different than any Calypso had seen before it: cleanly bright and almost shining, like there was no dirt of impurity on earth that could touch her, and she looked ageless: not a young woman, but without any characteristics of old age.

Quickly Calypso dropped to her knees, while Atlas simply inclined his head, but the simple action was enough to make her take notice. Her father never bowed or nodded to anyone but King Kronos and Queen Rhea. She glanced up cautiously, letting her hair fall over her face so that no one would notice her impertinence at lifting her gaze.

"Themis." Her father greeted, regal and warm. The lady didn't smile, but Calypso got the sense that smiling was not something she did often.

"Atlas." She inclined her head very slightly, then moved her hand. Everyone else in the throne room stood, and most of them filed out of the room out of politeness. Having nothing to do with herself, Calypso stood awkwardly beside her father's throne. She didn't even come up to the arm of it, and she regarded Themis with curious eyes.

Her father looked as if he were about to speak but then he stopped, looking down at his young daughter. "Calypso," he said in a low voice, "you will leave us."

Calypso knew better then to protest and she did not want to risk the ire of one of her attendants (who seemed to be in charge of her as opposed to in her charge) so she nodded at her father and began to descend the steps of the throne. She gave Themis a wide berth: the lady was so beautiful that she felt almost afraid to be near her. But she had already passed her when she felt the bright silver eyes on her back and shivered slightly.

"Come here, child." Themis' voice was terrifying and oddly calming at the same time, like she could see straight through a person, like she knew everything in the universe. Calypso turned around as if in a trance and walked towards her, feeling almost compelled against her will. Up close, her eyes were actually silver with flecks of shining black into them, and they didn't reflect like regular eyes did, but rather with things that were not happening, like her eyes were portals into another world.

The child felt cold. She drew back slightly, but she knew that if she refused the Titaness whatever she wanted, her father would be furious, and she was more scared of her father then she was of Themis' strange white eyes. Themis was far taller then her, and Calypso tilted her head up as far is it would go. The older lady reached down and laid her hands on her forehead, thumbs pressed into her temples. The little girl tried not to step back as everything inside her screamed in fear.

Themis murmured things under her breath, half singing, almost, although perhaps that was just her voice. She wanted to pull away, but her feet seemed made of wood. "Little Titan." She crooned in a voice Calypso had to strain to hear. "Of little consequence until...ah, foolish, stupid girl! But you will pay for your devotion. A queen indeed."

The scenes that Calypso could faintly make out as they whirled in Themis' eyes grew faster, and her eyes widened, but she couldn't see what the images were. "A queen indeed." Themis said again, almost disbelieving. "But the law is sacred!"

Suddenly Themis roughly pushed her back, hard enough to make the little girl stumble backwards and fall on the stone floor. The back of her head hit the ground before she righted herself, still sitting. She squeaked something that might have been father, but her eyes were still on Themis, who murmured something else under her breath. The Titaness glanced at the girl coldly before stepping forward and saying something to her father.

Calypso chanced a glance at her father, whose eyes were on Themis as well. He listened to what she said. He replied.

Look at me, she wanted to cry. Please please look at me.

Instead, someone else's hands lifted her from the ground. She found herself staring into the blue eyes of her sister, Maera. Maera was fifteen and fairly short, but Calypso had always been a small, skinny child, and Maera possessed the strength all of Atlas' children did, so she easily lifted her onto her hip, and let Calypso put her arms about her neck.

"Shh," she whispered, less comforting than ordering. "Do not bother Father now."

Calypso sniffled and made unattractive little honking sounds, staring at the floor moving under her, feeling numb and hurt and unseeing as she was carried to Maera's room.

"Why is she upset?" A quiet voice called from some corner. Calypso had to look up to see it was Maia, the first of the seven Pleiades. All seven of the twelve-year-old Pleiades, along with Calypso's other older sisters, the four Hesperides, and her week-older brother Hyas were sitting together on the floor of Maera's room, playing with a small golden ball.

"Shush," said Maera, depositing her on the floor. "Play with your siblings."

They spent the afternoon like that, and Father never again spoke about Lady Themis, who stayed on Othrys mostly and did not bother her again. In time she forgot all about it.


	5. we are where we shall be forever

_chapter four_

_we are where we shall be forever_

_two years later _

"Once, there were three nymphs named Euthalia, Kistos, and Iole who lived in a tree. One day a group of mortal men walked past their tree, large and beautiful and healthy, and decided that it would be a good tree to use to construct a shelter with. They planned to break off all its branches and perhaps fell it. When the eldest, Euthalia, heard this, she went to the others. 'Our tree will be felled tomorrow,' she said, 'we must leave immediately.'"

It was a stormy day, and Calypso was sitting in Maera's room along with seven of her other sisters, the Pleiades, and her brother Hyas. Maera was telling a story.

Without a doubt, Maera was the girl goddess' favorite sister. She was the eldest of all of them, the daughter an Oceanaid named Doris and the only other daughter of Atlas not to be legitimate.

She was not very tall, with olive skin, freckles dotting over her tiny nose and rosy cheeks, and a bright, ruddy-lipped smile. She had a strange quality to her face: her beauty seemed fragile or delicate and yet at the same time, hardy and healthful. Calypso regarded her as the most beautiful being in the world, and most certainly in her father's house, as well as one of the kindest; she had a character easily described as bright: usually merry and fun-loving, she was a wonderful dancer and singer, and her lovely face was always extremely animated, transparently broadcasting her every emotion to all who looked upon her. This last quality made her an excellent storyteller, which was the trait that her young siblings most prized.

"...the second eldest, Kistos, agreed to leave with Euthalia," Maera continued from her place stretched on one of her daybeds, while her siblings crowded around her. As always, she was dressed simply: without jewels, her dark hair braided up. "But the youngest, Iole, laughed. 'How can this be?' She said. 'We have lived here all our lives without this danger. Why should that change?'"

"Oh," Hyas said knowingly. "You have told this story before."

Calypso tried not to roll her eyes. It had been obvious from the first lines of the story that Maera was repeating it from a previous time. Hyas had only noticed now?

Hyas was her only brother, the son of the nymph Aethra. He was only a week older than her, and he often annoyed her: she found him not very clever or hardworking, and he often 'reacted rashly'—that was how Mama said it. Mama also said the two competed. Calypso was not sure if that was true. She just liked to win.

Now, she shoved him. "Do not give it away," she warned. Yes, she loved him, of course she did. He was her brother. But it was also annoying, the way he got Father's attention no matter what he did or didn't do, when she had to work for anything to be paid to her at all.

A frown must have been evident on her face from her thoughts. Her sister Electra poked her in the back. "What is the matter with you? Are you paying attention?"

Electra was twelve like the rest of the Pleiades, Mama's daughters. She was the second eldest of the seven sisters, but the most spirited out of all of them, with starling blue eyes that often shone with mischief or wry and sometimes out of line comments.

"You pay attention, Electra, or I will not finish," Maera warned, quickly silencing her squabbling siblings. "That night, Euthalia left the tree. That morning, when she took notice of the mortal men coming once again, Kistos took her leave as well. But the third nymph, Iole, still refused to leave. In the end, her luck did not help her. Her tree was destroyed and herself with it.

"In the end, both those who anticipated trouble and acted as well as those who acted as soon as it came both escaped an unhappy fate. But those who only relied on luck and did nothing to help themselves could not escape such an ending. And this is the way it is in life."

On Calypso's other side, Maia nodded eagerly. Maia was the oldest of the Pleiades, and the second oldest of all Father's children, second only to Maera. Despite that she was Electra's full sister, she was not nearly as brave, though she didn't like to admit it. Maia was very shy in the company of those not her siblings or mother, but in their presence she was, though still quiet, also bossy and straightforward. Despite being one of her more retiring sisters, Calypso liked Maia. She was also fairly kind, though she had a temper when annoyed enough.

The children all now sat back, satisfied with the story that had just been told, even if it was not new. Maera's presentation was so excellent that it did not matter to them, her gestures and tone so evocative as to set aflame the imaginations of the children listening.

All except Electra, who did not look satisfied, nor moved. Her rebellious streak, not wild nor out of control, still flared from time to time, and today, with rain, their relatives in charge of the heavens ruining the hunt and the weather for that day, she was bored and it was flaring.

Sitting up, she cupped her hands around her mouth surreptitiously. "Maera," she whispered loudly. "Will you tell us the story of how the King of Othrys swallowed his children?"

Silence fell among all the arguing siblings and they all stared at Maera with wide eyes. Maia clapped her hands over her mouth. The two youngest Pleiades, Sterope and Merope, made tiny squeaking sounds. Hyas drew a sharp breath.

They were never, ever supposed to talk about how King Kronos, the King of Othrys, the Titan of Time, swallowed his children. They were never supposed to talk about the King in any capacity—Mother had told her that he hated gossip and seditious words.

Even the serving nymphs in the corner ceased their work and looked stricken. She could have sworn the rain stopped for a moment out of shock. She shifted nervously, glancing at her siblings.

Maera looked at them all with wide eyes, sitting up straight and swinging her legs over the side of the day bed, then reaching over and deftly pulling Electra close to her, staring directly into her pale blue eyes. "Never speak of it again, do you hear me? How old are you? Twelve? Yes? If you would not like this year to be your final one, than I would suggest that you watch your mouth, and never open it again as far as this is concerned."

This had the opposite effect intended.

"Please, Maera?"

"Oh, Maera, tell it!"

"Maera, Maera, please?"

Such requests echoed between the younger children until Maera finally agreed, if they never repeated it to anyone. She had her own brave streak, Calypso observed. That was not always a good thing. Her only fault was always 'standing up to' Father and making trouble and making him angry. That was never good, and Calypso did not understand how no one else shared the extent of her frustration when this happened.

Maera told the story, though solemnly: it was not really a story as it was a utilitarian exchange of information; she did not play-act like she did usually, or use silly voices. She simply gave an account of events.

The story went like this: once upon a time Gaea the Mother of Us All, their grandmother, had had a husband, Ouranos, with whom she had born many Titans, among them Calypso's mother Tethys and their grandfather Iapateus and Queen Rhea and, the youngest of them all, King Kronos. She also then gave birth to other children, the Cyclopes, who were terrible in the sight of Ouranos, and he locked them away.

(Maira refrained from using actual names, only epithets. Names had power. Everyone knew that.)

That caused her terrible pain and then anger. Grandmother wanted revenge for having her children locked away. So she conspired with her youngest son, Kronos, to murder her husband: to murder an immortal. But this was not lightly done. Though Kronos was the most powerful Titan, he could not do it alone. He asked for the help of all twelve of his siblings, but only his brothers agreed—except for Oceanus, who refused. And with his fearsome scythe that every child had seen on their visits to Othrys, he and his brothers killed Ouranos, their father. And in time, Kronos married Queen Rhea, that beautiful and kind Titaness who had witnessed the birth of Atlas, as well as Pleione. And in more time, she bore him a daughter.

Maera had not yet been born. But those who had been said that Hestia, as she was named, was incredibly beautiful and incredibly powerful, even as an infant. But her beauty and powers only grew until, when she was three years old, Kronos grew afraid of how powerful she was, and swallowed her before her screaming mother's eyes. He feared being overthrown as he had his own father. Then Queen Aunt Rhea had given birth to another girl Titan named Demeter. And Kronos had swallowed her. Over time, Queen Aunt Rhea gave birth to another girl, Hera, and three boys: Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus. Kronos had swallowed them all.

That was the story. The children listed raptly, far more interested, despite the less dynamic presentation, in this story than in the one about the three oreads.

Calypso, privately, felt dark inside. Lord Kronos had killed his father, and then killed his own children—people in his own family. That was the worst thing, the very worst thing. Families had to stick together so matter what—that was something like what Father had always said, anyway.

Silence fell amongst them, all exchanging cautious, unhappy glances. The world seemed a little less innocent. The rain seemed admonishing.

After a pause, Maera stood up and made a motion with her hands as if to usher them out of the room, speaking in a falsely lighthearted voice. "Go, go, little chickens. I want to be alone now. You have made me think dark thoughts. I will see you at supper."

Maia stood up, tugging on Electra's hand, a cue for the other Pleiades to leave. Calypso turned to Hyas as they walked out of Maera's chambers. "Do you want to spar?"

He shook his head. "Not right now. I'm tired."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Weakling-girl."

He shoved her slightly. "Ugly boy-child."

"Fragile flower!" She called over her shoulder as she headed down the hall.

"Skinny chicken!" Hyas replied, and she rolled her eyes at him, content to let him have the last word for now—but only because she would definitely get him back later.

Besides, tomorrow her best friends in the world were visiting: the sun and moon.


End file.
